Snowfall brings Big Bear, Mammoth promising business

Southern California's ski resorts received a generous dumping of snow last week, blowing in a flurry of skiers and snowboarders for the holiday weekend and a positive economic outlook for the remainder of the season.

Big Bear Mountain Resorts, a shorter trek for Orange County visitors, is benefitting from recent snowfall ranging between 14 and 16 inches – a bounty this destination hasn't seen since before Christmas.

"We're bouncing back this weekend," said Bear Mountain General Manager Brent Tregaskis, noting that a lull from Christmas through January resulted in fewer visits and the need to generate manmade snow.

Now, in what first looked like a drier-than-normal snow season, the resort is back on track.

"We don't anticipate needing to make snow anymore this year," he said.

At Mammoth Mountain, skiers and snowboards headed up for President’s Day weekend – perfect timing to enjoy stellar snow conditions from the recent storm that dumped 27 inches on the slopes.

The Ibelle family makes the six-hour trek north each year from Aliso Viejo. With the kids off from school for the week, the family got up to the mountain for the first time.

“We're stoked, it's awesome,” said Robbie Ibelle, who brought his wife and four kids with him. “We're just excited to be here and have family time.”

The snow was packed but soft and light, with great coverage over the entire mountain. Mammoth has the most snow cover they have had all season, with 100 percent of the mountain open. The crowds were thick with those who have been waiting for fun conditions.

“The crowds are back enjoying the excellent conditions,” said Joani Lynch, director of communications for Mammoth.

Back at Big Bear, though the mountain accommodated skiers and boarders all season despite the lack of natural snowfall, the alternative isn't cheap. It costs the resort more than $1,000 an hour to create snow, Tregaskis said. The resort hopes to not face that financial burden for the rest of the season.

"(Natural) snow really does stimulate the market," he said.

Tregaskis said that compared with Northern California resorts and elsewhere in the country, cold weather conditions this season promoted the efficient production of manmade snow. Where other resorts depend almost solely on natural powder, Big Bear Resorts still saw a better season in a bad snow year than most, he said.

But that doesn't mean resort operators and visitors alike don't rejoice over the real stuff.

"I realized it was snowing so I said 'Let's go up there,'" said Jason Goldstein of San Diego, who had just returned from his first run of the day with Danielle Nuzzo.

Nuzzo commented on the good snow conditions in comparison with resorts in the East Coast, where she's from originally and appreciated the lack of ice on the slopes.

The pair said they were lucky to have found hotel accommodations because with the snow and holiday weekend came a sudden shortage of vacancies.

But for those who didn't make it out over the weekend, there will still be snow to go around.

"We have enough snow to certainly last past Easter," Tregaskis said. "We're going to finish this year pretty strong."